MDOC says he abducted a woman in Ionia and drove to Elkhart, where she escaped from him at a gas station.

Staff reports

A search for an escaped prisoner from Ionia Correctional Facility (formerly I-Max) has been called off locally after police learned he took a hostage and drove to Elkhart, Ind.

A spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Corrections said it is believed Elliot allegedly abducted a woman from an Ionia gas station using a knife or box cutter and drove to Elkhart, where they stopped for gas. The woman was able to escape at the gas station in Indiana and call police. Elliot left the gas station and is still at large, the official said. Police made contact with the Ionia woman at approximately 11:50 p.m. at the gas station in Indiana.

According to the MDOC, Elliot is serving life sentences for multiple first degree murders, arson and armed robbery for offenses that occurred in Gladwin County on Aug. 8, 1993. He is a 40-year-old white male, 5' 8" tall, 165 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.

He escaped wearing a white kitchen uniform Sunday night around 7 p.m.

The Ionia Department of Public Safety had cautioned residents to stay inside of their residences and secure all doors and windows. Law enforcement officials went door-to-door in some areas of Ionia with K-9 assistance in an effort to locate and capture Elliot.

An offender record for Elliot is at http://mdocweb.state.mi.us/OTIS2/otis2profile.aspx?mdocNumber=236879.